HEFEI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- When Li Youcai left a garment factory and returned to his rural home in the city of Wuhu a decade ago, finding a job in a local aircraft factory seemed unimaginable.

Li had initially planned to resume farming his small rice paddy. The city in east China's Anhui Province was historically known for growing rice, and in the 2010s, it had a thriving manufacturing sector, including car assembly.

"General aviation industry? Never heard of it," he recalled thinking at that time.

Li now leads a team of workers in an assembly factory owned by CETC Wuhu Diamond Aircraft Manufacture Co., Ltd. (CETC Aircraft). He is proud to be part of Wuhu's sophisticated supply chain for making aircraft from scratch.

"My dream is to board one of the planes we've built," said the 47-year-old worker.

What changed his career trajectory and the future of Wuhu was a bold move to set up the city's first general aviation company in 2013, well before China proposed developing the low-altitude economy.

CETC Aircraft is now one of the few Chinese general aviation firms that produce both manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). It has delivered over 100 manned models and over 300 drones since mass manufacturing began in 2018.

In May, the company celebrated the first overseas delivery of its DA42 NG manned aircraft, according to Tian Manlin, the company's general manager.

Even more impressive is its success in gathering nearly 200 clustered firms to form an industrial park that supplies key components from engines to propellers and provides related services.

"You can make an aircraft without even leaving the industrial park," said Zhu Yinghua, vice head of the Wanzhi District of Wuhu, where the aviation cluster is located. "For all the key components of a domestically produced aircraft, you can find a supplier within a 3-kilometer radius."

The Wuhu company is now recognized as a "chain leader firm," which has garnered more attention for its ability to drive the growth of an entire industrial chain. Many Chinese cities are inviting or fostering such companies in their efforts to develop emerging industries from robotics to AI.

"In the future, the competition will happen not only between individual companies, but also between clusters of companies," Tian said, adding that they are working closely with others in the industrial park to rev up innovation.

LONG-TERMISM

China's 2024 government work report included the concept of a "low-altitude economy" for the first time. The term includes drone delivery, aerial sightseeing and other industries operating below 1,000 meters above ground. Since then, the sector has seen rapid expansion, with its scale projected to exceed 1 trillion yuan (about 140 billion U.S. dollars) by 2026.

In Wuhu, the low-altitude economy sector reported revenue of 46.38 billion yuan in 2024, marking a yearly rise of 15.95 percent, according to the municipal development and reform commission.

But before the national policy tailwind, Wuhu had been making preparations. For years, the city has been promoting new application scenarios for general aviation aircraft, such as high-rise firefighting and river patrols. It is also building an intelligent platform for low-altitude management.

Tian also emphasized the importance of long-term planning in the company's development. CETC Aircraft has spent years developing original technologies and has initiated a general aviation research institute. The company now pours 30 percent of its revenue into R&D.

"Wuhu and its companies are both innovative and patient," said Tang Zhiqiang, deputy dean of Anhui institute of industry and information technology. "Over a decade of continuous investment is crucial to the sector's take-off."